P270
by The Alien of Pluto
Summary: Everything about this pointed toward failure, but Billy was used to failing. Dr. Horrible was the one who couldn't tolerate the disappointment of an experiment gone wrong. But this time was different; this time, neither would accept defeat.


**_First time writing _Dr. Horrible _so I don't know how this is. I've read a lot of fanfictions in this category the past few days and I haven't stumbled upon any like this yet so...I wrote it._**

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Everything about this pointed toward failure, but Billy was used to failing. Dr. Horrible was the one who couldn't tolerate the disappointment of an experiment gone wrong. But this time was different; this time, neither would accept defeat.

Dr. Horrible held the needle up to the light, absently admiring the shining silver metal of the tip, the bright blue glow of the serum inside. He tapped the glass tube, pushing several air bubbles to the surface before squeezing them out, and lowered the syringe to a thick plastic hose running past his thigh. His face set into a terrifying mix of agony, longing, and fiery determination, Horrible pushed the plunger, injecting the glowing liquid into the tube.

Slowly, carefully, he withdrew the syringe, taping up the miniscule hole on the hose as he did so, and lowered it onto a metal stand beside him. He stepped away from the stand, over the hose he'd injected the liquid into, and moved closer to the floor-to-ceiling tank that was his whole life now. He placed a black-gloved hand on the glass, and trailed his fingers along it as he circled the impressive chamber completely filled with a dimly luminescent green substance.

An electronic beep sounded from somewhere to his left and the Doctor turned, hurrying over to the monitor. He gave the multi-coloured chart a once-over and slowed his racing heart; everything was fine. He grabbed the mouse and clicked open a few more windows, studying the different data each offered, seeing the results of that last injection.

Billy returned to the tank, staring up with wide, hopeful eyes through the lens of his goggles. Maybe this one would work. After all these months, after all these failures, after each further shattering of his mind, maybe this one would succeed.

He heard the hiss of the door sliding open, the timid squelching footsteps as Moist entered the lab, but he didn't turn around.

"Hey, Doc," Moist took a few tentative steps into the lab, stepping cautiously over masses of electrical cords; "...I got you something to eat."

"Hmph," was his only response, so he set down the covered dish and picked his way to his villain's side.

Looking up at the Doc's newest creation with an observer's detachment, he thought the thing looked pretty ugly. But seeing it from the point of view of a friend of a man gone insane, he thought it was incredibly terrifying.

Tearing his eyes away, he looked at said insane man, noting thick circle's under his eyes, the ever increasing hollowness of his cheeks, and the mad twist to his features.

"When was the last time you slept?" Moist asked in his nasally voice.

"Don't remember," Billy mumbled, stroking the glass. "This one will work Moist, I just know it will."

The henchman chose not to reply, he was in treacherous waters already, if he was right about the time; the experiment was nearing completion.

As if hearing his thoughts the mad scientist whispered to himself, "Almost," before moving back to his computer. Moist took the opportunity to back out of the lab; he'd made the mistake of staying during one of the earlier attempts and had no wish to repeat the experience. He still had scars.

Horrible barely registered the sound of the door as the other left, focused as he was on the monitor.

Nothing could go wrong this time.

It was all timing now; he picked up his watch by the broken strap, carrying it with him to the tank's main control panel. He marked the time and moved it to his ear, counting the ticks instead of watching the hand move. He moved his own hand to a lever on the panel, his fingers twitching with anticipation. He forced all thought from his head, concentrating solely on the rhythmic clicking of the timepiece, lest he get distracted like last time.

It seemed an eternity before the last _chick_ sounded and he grabbed the lever, yanking it down with a faint, metallic groan. Electricity flickered across the panel once before traveling down along the thick hose at its base and over to the tank, crackling as it went. With a high-pitched humming the blue energy folded around the glass tank, traveling up and down its length, illuminating its contents in an eerie light.

There was a pulse from within the tank and Billy stopped breathing, as Horrible watched with increasing apprehension and delight.

It seemed to be working.

At first the pulsings inside the tank were erratic and spasmodic but they soon adopted a more regular, albeit fast tempo. Billy's face lit with sheer joy and he ran forward, nearly tripping over the thick cord in his way, to the small section of the tank he could stand closest to. He tentatively reached toward the tank's glass wall; tiny sparks jumped from his glove and back but it seemed safe to touch. Horrible leaned against the clear surface, looking up in awe and satisfaction.

Finally, after all the disappointments…

Failing to hear the excruciating, heart-rending howls he was by now so used, Moist crept back into the lab. A smile crept up his face as he saw inside the tank.

"P-270," he said, pride for his friend filling him up.

Billy stared. He watched the tiny grey _thing_ inside the tank slowly turn to lush pink and he breathed. He hadn't really breathed since That Day, all those months ago, and now, it felt good.

His eyes traveled the lengths of the black tubes feeding into the tank, making sure nothing came loose with all the sudden movement, before finally looking back on his Success. He traced its contours, searching for any abnormalities, then simply stood back and admired the creation in front of him.

He knew he said this about each of the attempts before this but this was truly the most beautiful with its smooth, prefect skin, the healthy green eyes that slowly blinked open to stare at him, and the tiny dusting of red hair on its lovely little head.

Yes, this was the most beautiful clone he'd ever made, none of the two-hundred and sixty-nine before it came close.

Except the Original.

"Penny," he breathed, "you're still a baby now, but once I speed the growth process and download your memories…" his smile grew impossibly wide, "we can be together again."

Then Horrible stepped back, beaming with pride at his accomplishment, and finally ate something; he need to be strong when the time came to finally release Penny from the tank, when Billy could hold her in his arms and, at long last, tell her he loved her.


End file.
